Police have arrested two people for allegedly stealing jet fuel from a NATO pipeline, through a tunnel dug from their sitting room in the Sancaktepe district of Istanbul.

The police discovered the tunnel after receiving complaints from neighborhood residents about an intense smell of petroleum in the area.

An investigation was made into the apartment with a search warrant while the suspects weren't at home, which revealed a 15-meter-long, 2-meter-deep tunnel down to NATO's jet fuel pipeline. Police officers waited outside the apartment until one of the suspects returned.

They captured the first suspect and found the other by determining his location after the first called him on the phone.

According to initial research, four people hired the ground floor apartment 1.5 months ago.

The suspects were transferred to the court after a first testimony at the police office.

Technical staff from the Defense Ministry have started an investigation to find out the exact amount of stolen jet fuel.